seatpost 4.20.12: nyc cycling culture this week

Love a bargain? Buy your tickets to the New Amsterdam Bicycle Show online now for $15 versus $20 at the door next weekend. velojoy.com readers receive an additional 10 percent off online tickets with this discount code: NAVELOJ

Discover an irresistible (if we do say so ourselves) array of hand-crafted cycling accessories at The Little Bike Shop, our pop-up in partnership with Adeline Adeline. Check out the complete listing of our fabulous vendors here. And plan to visit us at Booth No. 16!

We’re partial to cycling in the Berkshires because of the area’s scenic beauty (above), so we were delighted to hear about a new event, the first annual Berkshire Cycling Classic centered around historic Lenox, MA. It’s a gran fondo-style road cycling race with a hilly course, but it offers options for fit riders of a variety of levels. For serious racers, there’s a challenging 81-mile course (the event is the American stop on the fifteen-event UCI World Cycling Tour for 2012 through 2014); recreational riders can opt for the 62-mile route. Aggregate times are recorded by age group. Reward yourself after the race with dining and browsing in charming Lenox. The event’s promoter, Sparta Cycling, also presents the Skyscraper Harlem Cycling Classic and the Bucks County Classic.

May is Bike Month: Check the New bikenyc.org Website for Events

Bike Month, nationally and in NYC, kicks off on May 1. It’s a celebration that offers opportunities to explore all the benefits of riding a bicycle for transportation and recreation, and to encourage more people to join in. Your best source of NYC events? The new bikenyc.org is a centralized website for finding rides and bike-related activities and for event organizers to list events. Check it out here. (photo: bryansargargent’s flickr)

NYC Link Love:

What we’ve been reading this week:

New York Press reports on NYC Bike Train, a new way for NYC commuters to connect as groups for safey and sociability — featuring velojoy contributor Kim Burgas with Kimberly Kinchen. Also read our recent profile of Kinchen here.

With cycling’s growing popularity in New York City, more beginners will be taking to the bike lanes this spring. That’s why this development, reported by the The New York Times is so important: Pier 54 along the Hudson River Greenway will be converted to a “safe space” for beginners to learn to ride and for cyclists who haven’t ridden in a while to practice.

Speaking of beginners…don’t miss our 8-part Bicycling Makeover series, in which we share the story of one bike-curious New Yorkers journey into the bike lanes. Discover how to shop for a bike and gear, learn rules of the road and find tips on riding safely and confidently on city streets.

The New York Times visits Red Lantern Bicycle Shop in Fort Green, where owner Brian Gluck recently received a liquor license. For a virtual tour, check out the Times’ slideshow. Also, view my Momentum Magazine feature on Red Lantern here.

A $40 million pledge from an NYC philanthropist will build a field house, including a velodrome with a 200-meter inclined cycling track, at Brooklyn Bridge Park, reports the Times. It’s sure to be a boon not only to racing, but also to the community and to young riders.

And Finally…

CelebrityBabyScoop.com posted photos this week of a carefree Naomi Watts (below) taking advantage of a warm spring day to bike in Manhattan with her 4-year-old son as co-pilot.